The death of beauty
by ObsessiveCompulsive5699
Summary: “It’s okay, I’ve got you…You can rest now, Sasuke…” Oneshot


_Author's notes_

_I'm sorry I haven't uploaded any of my chapter fics yet...I just haven't really been in that kind of mood. I mean, I wrote this without even thinking, just sort of letting my fingers type what they wanted...So, here you go. A way of dealing with the anxiety and sadness I feel, I guess._

_Warning: Implicit slash-You can really make what you want of their relationship. It never actually says what they are, other than restating what the series has already called them...and weirdness? Charactor death...OOCness? Though I think they're remarkably in charactor, given the circumstances..._

_Disclamor: Seriously, do you think Itachi would have died had I written Naruto? Hmmm?_

_Author: Obsessive_

_Dedicated to: Compulsive-Cause she's my best friend, _miserygirl_-Cause she's been my biggest supporter and reviews everything I write! The sweetest person on here! _the-beginning-of-the-end'- _My second favorite person on here, she's been a huge supporter from the begining, and has written so many amazing stories for me! I owe her and miserygirl so much!_ .mmm,Serenityofthematrix, yukirain, kkbug33, Shimaki-33 - _They're regular reviewers, and always lavish me with praise, even when it's not deservered! And to all my other fabulous reviewers, without whom I'd still be a bumbling screw-up of a writer!_

* * *

When Sasuke found himself face-to-face with his _almost _brother in the middle of an empty clearing, he wasn't surprised. He had felt himself making careless mistakes, slipping up here and there, and knew that it was only a matter of time before his savior found him, came to claim what was left of his soul.

Still, the emptiness and loneliness he found in the other man was disheartening. He had always imagined their final meeting to be marvelous, with Naruto dragging him back home while he kicked and screamed all the way. This…this detachedness wasn't what he expected. He looked questioningly at the blonde, hoping for some sort of response. The air was thick with pressure and pain, and after several minutes of silence, Sasuke spoke.

"I love you…" He said quietly, more as a way to fix the tension between them than an actual declaration of love. Naruto gave him a weary look, emotions finally showing.

"Do you honestly expect to say something like that and make everything okay?" He gripped his kunai tightly. "It's been ten years, Sasuke. _Ten years._ Did you honestly expect me to still be the dead last dobe I was back then, swooning at your every compliment? I'm a jonin now…I'll be the Hokage soon."

They continued to stand there, hands on their weapons. Both men looked remarkably young, except for their eyes, which showed decades more sorrow and exhaustion than their twenty-three years should have allowed. Staring at each other, their eye contact was broken only when Naruto closed his baby-blue eyes for the shortest moment before refocusing on his rival-turned-enemy.

"Do you know what I have to do…?"

"…Take me back to Konoha? Take me home…?" He spoke in a small voice, different than any Naruto had ever heard him use. He was swayed, almost, for a moment; But his battle scarred heart throbbed painfully only for a minute before the detachedness settled over him like a blanket again.

"That's not your home anymore Sasuke, and you know it…It's not either of our homes anymore." The blonde said just as quietly, repressed pain thick. They watched each other silently, and slowly, tears brimmed over and fell slowly down his cheeks.

"So this is it?" Sasuke asked, barely holding back his sobs, feeling the walls that he had held up with Naruto's love start to fall. He wasn't surprised when the blonde said nothing, just pressed his lips in a tight line and surged forward.

He let out a short laugh when the kunai lodged itself deep in his heart, and somewhere in the back of his mind, he thought of the irony of it all. He felt the blood pour out of his chest, and his legs give out; he braced himself for the landing, but instead, at the last second, strong, warm arms caught him.

Gently, the blonde lowered them until he was cradling the smaller brunette to his chest, and they were once more staring into each other's eyes. Naruto's tears feel on his face, like water from the heavens, and he saw his most precious person's blue eyes swirling with the things he dared not say.

"Ahh…" Sasuke sighed, feeling fifteen years of sleepless nights crashing on his rapidly numbing body, and he fought to keep his eyes focused on his angel. "I'm tired, Naruto…" He told him in a voice the other hadn't heard in a very long time.

Naruto felt a sob escaping him, but he fought to keep it down. He gazed at his best friend, the man he had never really known, and suddenly the gap between them felt smaller than it ever had. Another sob ripped forward as he saw how Sasuke was losing the struggle against death, his eyelids fluttering wildly. His arms tightened around the cold body, and let his head rest on the others.

"It's okay, I've got you…You can rest now, Sasuke…"

* * *

_So...yeah. I don't know, I just...I can kind of see this happening...one of my various endings for the series, I guess...Not really what I want to happen, but..._

_Reviews make me smile_


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